For the operation of most electrical devices, there is an electrical connector that includes a pair of complementary assemblies that mate to prove an electrical conductive path through the connector to power the device. An electrical connector is an electro-mechanical device for joining electrical circuits as an interface using a mechanical assembly. In some cases, the connection may be temporary, as for portable equipment or require a tool for assembly and removal. There are many different types of electrical connectors. Connectors may join two lengths of flexible wire or cable, or connect a wire or cable or optical interface to an electrical terminal. In other examples, connectors may be mounted on or associated with cards. In computing, an electrical connector may also be known as a physical interface. Cable connectors connect wires to devices mechanically rather than electrically and are distinct from quick-disconnects performing the latter.
In some electrical connectors, one assembly includes one or more conductive pins or posts, collectively called plugs. Each plug may be mounted to an end of the assembly, wherein one end is mounted with the assembly and the other end is free-standing. The receiving or receptacle assembly includes one or more voids that include an electrical contact. The receptacle assembly voids correspond to the geometry of the plugs and receive the plugs when the two assemblies are connected together. The plugs and electrical contacts of the two assemblies are aligned so that, when the two assemblies of the electrical connector are coupled together, each plug engagingly contacts the corresponding resilient contact.
Each resilient contact is biased by its resilience to assert sufficient contact pressure on the outer surface of the mating pin. Typically, the contacts are positioned in their rest state to extend partially into the axial path of the plugs when the two connector assemblies are aligned but not yet coupled. The plugs deflect the resilient contacts as the two connector assemblies are joined together, so that resilience of the contact presses it against the mating pin post. This ensures a proper electrical path through the mating contact of each connector assembly.
Typically, electrical connectors having a structure as aforementioned have a limited useful life in the amount of times the assemblies may be connected and disconnected due to premature contact wear. This is especially the case in applications where noble or precious metals coat or are placed in suitable locations on the plugs and/or the contacts, in order to make the electrical connector more corrosion resistant and to improve electrical conductivity in the plug-to-contact connection. The coated contact surfaces of the plugs and contacts may eventually wear away by the repeated connection and disconnection of the assemblies of the electrical connector. Once the coated surfaces wear away, the untreated material of the plug and/or contact exposed, so that the surface may be more susceptible to corrosion and the conductivity in the electrical connector may be reduced due to reduced contact area between the plugs and contacts. An additional problem with worn connectors is that the worn connectors may damage the mating connector. In this scenario, the tester with the worn connector may damage the part that it is testing.
In one such example, the use of pluggable connectors for memory or bus functions requires reliable connectors that need to be installed during the system bring-up or general availability. Typically, when an interface card is plugged, there is no direct method of establishing how many times these aforementioned connectors have been actuated before GA. A reference guide typically exists from the manufacturer or supplier that specifies the recommended maximum pluggable count for the connector. However, there is no direct way to obtain the amount of pluggable counts for the connector other than manual counting of each connection. As such, what is needed is a way to dynamically count the amount of cycles the electrical connector has been connected.